West Oakland: up and coming or just a trap? (Alameda: rent, house)

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Joe_Ryder

Here we go again.

I'll never understand adamant haters who speak so authoritatively despite little to no experience with the subject matter.

In the case of Oakland, Oaklanders themselves are apparently far less in the know than outsiders.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by artemis78

Yes, we have several sets of friends (all artist types) who live in WOak, either in converted lofts near Dogtown or in single-family homes in the area near BART. (One is a family with young kids; others are all no kids/single-until-recently). They all love, love, love their communities. That said, there is still *lots* of violence that's pervasive/endemic, particularly among youth--it may not affect you personally, but it will at the very least affect some of your neighbors, friends, etc. And the neighborhood has a lot of issues not of its own doing that have yet to be resolved--truck traffic and pollution from the port, toxic sites, etc.,--remnants of decades of disinvestment. We weren't keen on going down that road when we were looking. It is what it is--I wouldn't buy a place expecting it to make you millions, but if it's reasonably priced (i.e., comparable to rents in the same 'hood) and you like the community that's there now and are willing to invest in and grow with it, then sure, why not.

I know what you mean, I'm actually an artist too (classical pianist to be specific). And I looked at renting a loft condo made out of a beautiful old brick warehouse in Dogtown, 29th & Market. The only thing I didn't like about it was the prospect of asking a mother to drive their child into West Oakland for a piano lesson.. I imagined that would not be good for business. That's part of why I gravitated towards a nicer area in the lower hills.

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by ZhugeLiang

What I do know is how to look up crime rates per zip code and nearly every zip code in Oakland is at a minimum, double the national average crime rate. If you're proud of where you're from, fine, whatever works for you, but that doesn't mean you're any less full of ****.

But hey, why deal in reality when its easier to hate whitey, eh?

Ha another confused white washed Asian how surprising.

[artemis78]

Here's an interesting little site that lets you check out crime by zip code:

Relocation Essentials

It reveals what most Oaklanders already know: zipcodes for some neighborhoods (Montclair, Rockridge, Piedmont Ave, etc.) are well below the national crime averages; zipcodes for others (Dimond, Mills, Redwood Heights, Glenview, Maxwell Park, etc.) are on par with national averages; some (Fruitvale, Laurel, Sheffield Village, etc.) are slightly higher than national averages; and a few zipcodes (West Oakland, deep East Oakland neighborhoods) are 2 or more times the national average. Also, many of Oakland's zips are very large, and include many diverse neighborhoods. Looking at a crime map is a much better way of determining whether an individual neighborhood has crime issues.

This isn't to say Oakland doesn't have a crime problem--it has a very real one. But it's largely a story of concentrated, deep-rooted crime in specific neighborhoods, not a universal problem everywhere in the city.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by ZhugeLiang

What I do know is how to look up crime rates per zip code and nearly every zip code in Oakland is at a minimum, double the national average crime rate. If you're proud of where you're from, fine, whatever works for you, but that doesn't mean you're any less full of ****.

Except for 94602, 94610, 94611, 94618 and 94619.. but hey, those are all up in the hills right? (hint: they're not)

[Joe_Ryder]

Before you guys put too much stock in zip codes, take a look at 94606. That zip code has some pretty impressive crime stats. Funny thing is that China Hill is in 94606. Hmmm.

For those unfamiliar with China Hill, it's a notorious area where ravaging bands of upper income yuppies roam the streets at all hours. Just the cost of real estate (starting at $650K for a 75-year-old little 950 foot house with a detached shed/garage) could cause instant death for the unprepared.

Oakland covers a lot of territory. Each zip code covers a lot of territory. There are some really bad parts of Oakland. They aren't just bad, they're extra industrial strength bad. That's why I don't go to those areas. Pretty simple. If Oakland was all that bad, then the tens of thousands of upper income people who can afford to live anywhere they want wouldn't live here.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Joe_Ryder

Before you guys put too much stock in zip codes, take a look at 94606. That zip code has some pretty impressive crime stats. Funny thing is that China Hill is in 94606. Hmmm.

For those unfamiliar with China Hill, it's a notorious area where ravaging bands of upper income yuppies roam the streets at all hours. Just the cost of real estate (starting at $650K for a 75-year-old little 950 foot house with a detached shed/garage) could cause instant death for the unprepared.

Oakland covers a lot of territory. Each zip code covers a lot of territory. There are some really bad parts of Oakland. They aren't just bad, they're extra industrial strength bad. That's why I don't go to those areas. Pretty simple. If Oakland was all that bad, then the tens of thousands of upper income people who can afford to live anywhere they want wouldn't live here.

Not to mention that Jack London Square with its million-dollar condos is in 94607, same as the projects..

[pukeko]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

What's CD's opinion of this?

I'm tempted to think trap. I lived just north of there in West Berkeley for 4 years and took the San Pablo bus into downtown Oakland every day. For the most part, that area is not gritty, it's just plain dangerous. The tide did not lift West Oakland real estate dramatically in the last boom. You might see a little gentrification around the edges (on the border with downtown and possibly Emeryville), but that's about it.

[fromthebay]

IMO.... West Oakland is still crap... much better then before the earthquake and during the 90's.. but I would NEVER live there

[azoria]

I'm pretty surprised to see a conversation about moving to west Oakland, how times change....

I lived in the BA on and off from 1970 to the mid 80's and west Oakland was the worst neighborhood I'd ever seen. Nobody even dared exit an off ramp from the freeway into west Oakland, and if you did such a thing by accident you kept on moving--running red lights and stop signs--till you could get out of there again. West Oakland was a world of its own and outsiders did not go there.

Amazing how things change in 20 years? People actually moving there on purpose, housing being built. I would never have dreamed that west Oakland could be 'gentrified'. It was the closest thing to Detroit on the west coast.

I guess all this happened after the earthquake and freeway collapse and the closing of Alameda navy base?